Meet our featured blogger Lauren!

Name: Lauren Cork-Simpson

Camp: Camp Aloha, Vermont

Role on camp: Arts and Crafts/Woodwork department.

Year I went: 2014

Favourite activity on camp: Campfires! I love a campfire anyway but with the added atmosphere with stories and singing. A summer camp campfire really does deliver. This is the time during which you bond with the campers and other counsellors.

Favourite food in the US: I loved the tomato soup and grilled cheese we had at camp. It was a firm favourite among both campers and counsellors alike. The other food that stands out in my mind is of course, smores. It deeply saddens me that we don't have graham crackers in the UK. I've tried with digestives but its just not the same!

Favourite city in the US: This is such a tough question! I did the Bourbon and Beaches Camp America Trek after I finished working. This meant I travelled New York to Miami and I visited so many amazing places on the way. If I were to choose purely on the place (and not let theme parks or white water rafting influence my decision) it would have to be out of New York and New Orleans. New York should be on everyones bucket list. Central Park is amazing! You could spend a week exploring it alone. New Orleans is also a contender because the food was amazing!! I have said I want to go back to New Orleans just to have another meal at Oceana.

Favourite/Funniest memory of camp: My favourite memory of camp was my birthday. I turned 20 years old near the end of camp. I had avoided telling anyone as I didn't want to make a fuss and didn't think it would matter much. However, on my birthday someone found out and initiated the birthday song and lunch. This meant my campers found out including my “clubber” (one of the older girls who are in training to become a counsellor). My clubber spent her rest hour making me a cake and then she sorted out a birthday surprise last minute for free time. I was so touched and it was a really fun afternoon.

What advice would you give to others applying for the programme? I would tell everyone to enjoy it and to make the most of it. There are so many new experiences at camp that it can be intimidating. Put yourself out there and take risks. Talk to people and make friends. Really invest and be a part of the camp experience. There is no point travelling all that way to just sit on the outskirts of the action! It can be scary or overwhelming but you don't want to come home feeling you only had half of an experience.

Thanks so much, Lauren! We're looking forward to more of your posts and in the meantime, check out her epic blog Explore a Corner!